Convertible bailer.



N0- 830,464. PATENTED SEPT. 4, 1906.

.L C. SWAN. CONVERTIBLE BA'ILER. APPLIGATION FILED M1015. 1904.

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JOHN C. SWAN, OF MARIETTA, OHIO.

CONVERTIBLE BAILEF Specification of Letters Patent.

Eatented Sept. 4, 1906.

To tZZUwz/om it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN C. SWAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marietta, in the county of Washington, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Convertible Bailers, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to what are known as sand-bailers intended for use in connection with the work of drilling oil and Artesian wells for bailing out the sand or comminuted material from the bottom of the hole to enablle the drilling apparatus to operate effective y.

In the operation of drilling wells it is not only necessary to bail out the hole as often as it becomes choked with the material broken down by the drill, but it is also necessary in case no water-bearing strata is met With in drilling to supply suiiicient water to enable the drill to operate efficiently. To supply the necessary water by pouring into the top of the well-hole, oftentimes, particularly if the well-hole is not protected or is only partly protected by a casin'g,results in washing away the sides of the well-hole, iilling up the lower end of the well-hole, and sometimes results in causing serious caving in of the walls. Various devices are in use for supplying the necessary water, such as a bailer having a dumprod attached to .the dart of the bailer, it being necessary to attach or detach the dump-rod every time the bailer is to be changed from a bailer proper to a dumping device to carry waterto the bottom of the well-hole or to be changed back to a bailer proper after its use as a dumping device, this attachment and detachment of the dumping-rod taking considerable time.

It is the object of my present invention to provide a device capable of use either as a bailer or as a water-supply bucket and readily converted from bailer to water-bucket, or vice versa, without the loss of time and eX- penditure of labor heretofore necessary.

With this object in view my invention consists in the construction and combination of elements hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, showing my improved convertible bailer. Fig` 2 is a horizontal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken on line a a of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on line b b of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the detents.

In the drawings, 1 is the tube of the bailer.

2 is the loop at the upper end of the bailer for attachment of the sand-line.

3 is the valve-seat at the lower end of the bailer.

4 is the valve shown in Fig. 1 as in raised .position away from its seat.

5 is the dart extending through the bottom of the bailer for raising the valve 4 from its seat when the bailer reaches the bottom of the well.

The construction so far described is that in common use and needs no further description.

To the valve 4 I attach a rod 6, preferably by eyes 7 or other connecting means sulliciently loose to permit free movement in all directions. Near its upper end the rod 6 is provided on two opposite'sides with ratchetteeth or wickers 8, the sides 9 between the rows of ratchet-teeth or wickers being smooth and free from obstruction. The upper end 10 of the rod is adapted to receive a wrench. The upper end of the rod passes through a circular opening 11 in a plate 12, secured to the tube of the bailer and having formed therein radial ways 13, in which are located detents 14, adapted to engage the ratchet-teeth or wickers. Springs 15, bearing at one end against the outer ends of the detents and at the other ends against pins 16, act to force the detents yieldingly inward against the rod 6. The plate 12 is firmly secured in position by any convenient means, as by rivets 17, extending through the walls of the tube and upset into countersunk recesses 18. The plate 12 is cut away at 1Q to afford free passage for the material with which lthe bucket may be filled.

When the device is to be used as a bailer, the rod 6 is rotated by means of a wrench introduced from the upper end of the bailer, so

that the smooth sides 9 will be in line with the detents 14, so that the rod 6, with the valve 4, Will be free to fall by its own weight until the valve rests on the valve-seat 3, and the device being lowered into the well, as the dart strikes the fluid, the valve is raised from its seat, permitting the mud to enter the bailer, the valve closing by its Weight as the bailer is raised from the bottom, so that whatever has entered the bailer is held from escaping as the bailer is raised to thewsurface, the dumping of IOO IIO

the contents being subsequently effected in the usual manner.

When it is desired to use the device for introducing water, the valve 4 being on its seat, the rod 6 is rotated to bring the rows of ratchet-teeth or wickers Sinto line with the detents 14, and the bailer is then filled with water and lowered into the well-hole. As the bailer reaches the bottom the dart 5, striking against the bottom, opens the valve, the rod 6 sliding through the opening 11 in the plate 12, the detents 14 engaging the teeth 8 and locking the valve 4 in its raised position, as shown in Fig. 1. The bailer is then raised to permit the water to escape. The rows 8 of teeth are sufl'iciently long to permit the detents 14 to lock the valve open in whatever position it may be raised to by the dart 5, so that when the bailer is raised there will be no lost motion between the bailer and the valve. Ifit is desired to lower a second bailer full of water, it is only necessary when the bailer is raised to the surface to roh tate the rod 6 by means of a member, as before, to free the teeth from the detents 14 and permit the valve 4 to drop to its seat and to then rotate the rod when the valve is on its seat to bring the teeth 8 into line with the detents. The bailer may then be filled with water and lowered as before. When it is de* sired to again use the device as a bailer, the rod 6 is rotated as before to bring the smooth sides 9 into linel with the detents, permitting the valve to drop to its seat and to be raised therefrom by the dart, as before described. The upper end of the rod 6 being square in cross-section it can be rotated to bring the teeth 8 or the smooth sides 9 into line with the detents only by the use of suflicient force to push back the detents far enough to allow the corners to pass them, and the rod consequently cannot be accidentally rotated.

It will of course be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the precise construction or arrangement of parts shown, as it is obvious that changes in form and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it should also be understood that while the invention is shown in connection with a bailer having a particular form of bottom valve and means for opening it, it may be used with any other form of valve and opening means.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a convertible bailer, the combination with the bottom valve and means for raising the valve from its seat, of a rod flexibly connected with the valve, a pair of plates secured together and arranged within the tube of the bailer having an opening therein through which the rod extends, and a pair of springpressed detents arranged between the plates for engaging the rod to lock the valve in raised position.

2. In a convertible bailer, the combination with the bottom valve and means for raising the valve from its seat, of a rod iiexibly connected with the valve, and provided near its upper end with ratchet-teeth, of a pair of plates secured together and arranged within the bailer having an opening through which the rod extends, detents carried by the plates adapted to engage the teeth on, the rod to lock the valve in open position.

3. In a convertible bailer, the combination with the bottom valve and means forraising it from its seat, of a rod iiexibly connected with the valve having its upper portion square in cross-section with ratchet on two opposite sides and with the other two sides smooth, a pair of plates within the tube of the bailer having a central circular opening through which the rod extends, detents carried bythe plates adapted to engage the teeth on the rod, the rod being adapted to be turned to bring either the toothed or the smooth sides into line with the detents.

4. In a convertible bailer, the combination with the bottom valve and means for raising it from its seat of a rod iiexibly connected with the valve and provided near its upper end with ratchet-teeth, a pair of plates arranged within the bailer having a central opening through which the rod extends, detents carried by the plates adapted to engage the teeth on the rod to lock the valve in open position, the plates being also provided with side openings to afford free passage for the contents of the bailer. I

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. SWAN.

Witnesses:

A. P. GREELEY, E. H. PARKINs.

IOO 

